


my heart seeks yours (by choice, by instinct)

by amaronith



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, WidoFjord Week 2019, bonding bites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 08:33:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19269571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaronith/pseuds/amaronith
Summary: With the altering of Fjord's magics by Melora, it triggers some buried instincts within him, tangled up with his feelings for Caleb.





	my heart seeks yours (by choice, by instinct)

**Author's Note:**

> Hell yeah, hypothetical future where Fjord's a Celestial Warlock!
> 
> Written for Widofjord Week Day 4: Promises/Instincts

It was Caleb who noticed first, and Fjord wasn't sure how to feel about that, except grateful the wizard at least asked him about it when they were alone in the library-slash-lab.

"Fjord? Are you all right? You look, ah…" Caleb frowned, peering up into Fjord's face. "You look a bit like you ate one of those fruits in Urukayxl."

"Can you keep a secret?" Fjord murmured, leaning in close to Caleb. Had Caleb always smelled so damn _good_?

"Obviously."

Fjord couldn't stop himself from breathing in Caleb's scent, dragging his nose through the wizard's copper hair. "Ever since Melora replaced Uk'atoa as my patron-" and, oh, hadn't that been a damn trip and a half? "-my body has been trying to… resettle itself. It's, ah, triggered some interesting instincts."

"Like you sniffing me?"

"You smell _amazing_ ," Fjord was practically purring. "Makes me wanna pin you down, see if you smell this good everywhere, see what you _taste_ like..."

It wasn't until Caleb let out a startled noise that Fjord realized what he said.

"Sorry- I can- this'll settle soon, Melora said. It's part of the healing, she said. Um."

"You… said this was instincts?" Caleb asked, not letting Fjord pull away but also eyeing him like he'd lost his mind. "What kind of instincts, exactly?"

"...the breeding kind." Fjord couldn't even find it in himself to be embarrassed at the admission.

He mostly wanted to Mark Caleb as being _his_.

"Should I go find Jester for you?"

Fjord shook his head. "I don't want her."

"Who do you want-" Caleb gasped as Fjord buried his face in Caleb's neck and bit, _gently!_ , at Caleb's throat. " _Ah!_ "

"I think that for someone so clever, you already know the answer to that."

Caleb swallowed hard, and Fjord found himself almost entranced by the motion of his throat. "I am missing a few things to help with 'breeding', Fjord."

"You'd be amazed at how little I care." 

Unless that was Caleb saying no.

Fjord would rather suffer alone for however long this stupid resettlement lasted than push Caleb for anything he didn't want.

Fjord started to pull away, to apologize and maybe hide in his room for the rest of his life, when Caleb grabbed him by the back of his neck and tugged him in for a kiss.

"As long as you're ok with that, _Bärchen_."

"As long as it's you, I'll be fine." He hadn't wanted to confess that much - not like this, maybe not even ever given the wizard's long lessons with _Essek Theylss_.

The stray thought about the Dunamancy master made Fjord growl, low and deep in his chest before Caleb kissed him again, hard and hungry.

"I didn't know you felt that way about me, Fjord."

Fjord kissed Caleb back. "It's not something we really need to talk about right now, is it? It's obvious that I've admired you for a while, now."

"Not as obvious as you would think. But we don't have to discuss it now… not when you're looking at me like you want to devour me whole, anyway…"

"I am gonna pin you down and devour your screams of ecstasy is what I'm gonna do," Fjord growled, backing Caleb up toward his bedroom.

" _Oh_..." Caleb let himself be led, eyes wide. " _Ja_ , that's…. _Ja._ "

Fjord slammed Caleb's door shut behind them, lifting him up to settle him gently on the bed. "Help me get you naked before I rip something." 

It almost felt like the closer he was to Caleb, the more his control was slipping, with Fjord just shy of throwing caution to the winds and hanging on by the tips of his fingers.

Caleb's pupils were blown wide, his eyes dark with a hungry desire. "Maybe next time I'll let you."

Fjord's heart clenched at the thought of there being a 'next time' with Caleb.

After that, it took a matter of moments for them to get naked, for Fjord to pin Caleb down and kiss him everywhere, losing himself in the scent and taste and _sounds_ that Caleb made as Fjord worked him open with the mineral oil Caleb had for spells before Fjord entered him.

When he had dreams of Caleb - of admitting his feelings for Caleb - he had dreamed their lovemaking was slow and leisurely, that they had all the time in the world to explore each other and Fjord could memorize what made Caleb moan the loudest.

This was nothing like Fjord's dreams. 

It was hard and fast and too eager and too much, instincts to bite and claim and take warring with the desire to make things good for Caleb.

Caleb deserved _only_ good things.

Caleb clung to Fjord as Fjord thrust into him, fingers digging into Fjord's shoulders as he moaned. "Fjord…. _Wenn ich könnte, würde ich liebend gern dein Kind zur Welt bringen_... Fjord, please, _bitte_!"

He should've caught himself. He should've been able to control it more, but he bit down hard on Caleb's neck as he stroked Caleb to completion, his blood flooding against Fjord's tongue as he gasped and came, Fjord following him soon after.

He lost himself, a bit, after that.

Fjord woke up later, wrapped around Caleb and faced with the evidence of his weakness against his own damn blood.

A Bonding Bite.

Fjord wanted to be sick - Caleb would hate him forever, if he knew what Fjord had done.

That was the thought that gave him pause.

What did Caleb know of Orcish culture? Certainly less than Fjord did.

He didn't have to know what it meant. What did Orcish tradition matter to a human? As far as Caleb was concerned, the mark didn't have to be anything other than a mark from an overzealous lover. 

Fjord knew his heart would forever be bound to Caleb, but that didn't have to mean Caleb was tied to Fjord, too.

Plan in place, for a given value of 'plan', Fjord let out a slow breath, though he was surprised when Caleb rolled over and nuzzled his cheek against Fjord's chest. "Mm. Fjord."

"Hm?"

"It is still early yet. Go back to sleep."

Fjord chuckled weakly, burying his nose in Caleb's hair. He smelled like home - would forever smell like home.

One Fjord never really had a true claim to.

_Just like every other one I tried to make. Not the orphanage, not on the Tide's Breath, not with Caleb._

Caleb sighed in his sleep and held Fjord tighter, and Fjord let his eyes drift closed.

He could at least pretend, if only for a little while.

\--

He woke again later, and at some point he and Caleb had switched positions in the night, with his head on Caleb's chest and Caleb's fingers slowly dragging through Fjord's hair, only occasionally shifting to turn a page in his book before returning.

"Mmm," Fjord shifted, holding Caleb closer. "S'nice…"

"Good morning, _Bärchen_ ," Caleb rumbled, his voice low and rough with sleep. "Are you aware you purr?"

"Do I?"

"I pushed your hair from your face in your sleep, and you started purring like a contented cat." Caleb gently scraped his fingernails over Fjord's scalp, and Fjord groaned, feeling the jolt of pleasure down his spine and right to his dick. "I wonder what else would it take to make you purr for me?"

The scent of Caleb's arousal hit Fjord like a war hammer, leaving him feeling drunk and dazed. "I am certainly not opposed to finding out..."

Caleb's gaze felt like a caress all on it's own, his smile a little mischievous and wicked before suddenly he was rolling them over, and reaching for the mineral oil. "Let's get started, then."

\--

Fjord was sure if he asked Caleb how long they spent in his room, Caleb could tell him down to the second, but Fjord was happy enough knowing it was late afternoon when they had finally washed up and gotten dressed.

He was nervous as hell, however, when Caleb had asked that they "talk about what happened", and not even the crooked smile Caleb had given him when he asked they be dressed for it because Fjord was distracting enough when he was fully clothed, his being naked just completely derailed Caleb's thoughts (a statement Caleb had punctuated with gentle hickies and an almost possessive scrape of fingernails down Fjord's chest) had eased his anxiety.

They dressed in silence, though once Caleb was finished, Fjord was still half out of his shirt and staring.

Not hidden at all by the high collar of Caleb's new clothes, the Mark was red and angry, almost accusatory. A symbol clear as day, practically the physical manifestation of Fjord's more monstrous nature. 

And yet, the sight of it made something warm and contented curl through Fjord's gut.

"Fjord? Are you all right?"

He missed being called _Bärchen_. "I- yeah. I'm sorry, by the way. I, ah-" he couldn't say it, even if Caleb didn't know what he meant. Fjord instead indicated the spot on his own neck. "It's pretty visible."

"After you bit me, you stopped speaking Common, did you know that?" Caleb sat next to him, a faint smile on his face. "I have no idea what you said, but it sounded romantic."

_You are my light, my heart, my soul, my always._

Fjord flushed. "I-sorry."

"You keep apologizing for things, Fjord. Why?"

"I lost my head while we were-" Fjord coughed, and finished tugging his shirt on over his head. "-ah, being intimate. And I hurt you-"

"This?" Caleb stroked a finger over the Mark, and Fjord couldn't stop the full body shudder as though Caleb had touched Fjord rather than himself. "This didn't hurt - at least, not in a way I didn't enjoy."

A small mercy. One that Fjord didn't think he deserved, but would happily take if it made things easier on Caleb. "Our friends are gonna be assholes about it, is all."

"Do you want to keep this between us?"

There was something about his voice, maybe the tone or lack thereof, that made Fjord want to shrivel up and die. "If you're ashamed-"

"The only one of us who seems that way is _you_ , Fjord," Caleb snapped, his voice hard, and Fjord felt like a scolded dog.

"I'm not ashamed of you, Caleb, I just - this is new for me. I never, ah, intermingled with a friend group. On the ship it was all business and then back to ignoring one another. Or, at least, that's how it was with me."

"I am not a shipmate who hates you, Fjord. I am a friend who cares for you a great deal, and we're in a group of friends who care for us a great deal. If they take the piss, it comes from a place of caring."

Fjord watched Caleb carefully for a long moment. "If I understand you, you want to… keep doing this? With me?"

"You're a handsome man, Fjord. I'd be honored to. If you want to continue this with _me_ , that is."

"Yes!" Fjord said quickly, maybe too quickly, but he didn't care. He could stay with Caleb, ease the longing in his soul to be close without telling him the meaning of the Mark. "I-yes. I want to."

Caleb smiled at him, soft and fond. "Then we are agreed."

Fjord tugged Caleb into a kiss, pressing his palm to the Mark on Caleb's throat with a whimper.

There was a knock at the door. "Cay-leb, are you and Fjord awake?"

Fjord stared at the door. How did Jester know he was in Caleb's room?

Caleb gave Fjord a sheepish look. "Beauregard stopped in earlier, while you were asleep."

"Great. You could have mentioned that earlier while I was panicking."

" _Bärchen,_ " Caleb murmured, kissing him gently. "Relax."

"Caaaaaay-leb."

"You can come in, Jester," Caleb called, keeping his fingers in Fjord's hair.

The door flung open with a _bang_. "We made you a banner and Caduceus made a cake!"

"....a banner?"

Jester wiggled her hands with a grin. "Congrats on the sex~!"

Fjord looked up at Caleb. "Is this what you meant about taking the piss from a place of 'caring', Caleb?"

"Precisely this."

Fjord buried his face in Caleb's chest and laughed.

\--

The banner had little dicks on it - some in green, others in pink - and the cake was tasty, if somehow in the shape of a dick as well.

Fjord sat next to Caleb as they ate, his foot locked around Caleb's ankle, and Frumpkin winding between Fjord and Caleb's legs.

Fjord insisted on washing the dishes after, and Beau joined in drying them, leaving everyone else to scatter to wherever.

"Hey, Fjord? That Mark on Caleb's neck-"

The teacup in Fjord's hand slipped from suddenly numb fingers. Beau caught it before it could shatter, swearing.

Of course _Beau_ of all people would know what it meant.

"I'm not holding him to it."

"Huh?"

"The Mark. I'm not- He doesn't know what it means, and I won't hold him to it. I-" Fjord gripped the edge of the wash basin to stop his hands from shaking. "The sex was consensual. That Mark was not. I won't bind him to a monster."

"Oh, _Fjord_..." Beau set the teacup down gently as she hugged him. "I'm sorry, buddy."

"It-it's fine."

"It's not. This is going to kill you."

"It's nothing so dire as all that, Beau-" Fjord tried to laugh it off, but all that came out was a soulsick noise.

"Bullshit. You bound yourself to him, and he doesn't get the exact magnitude of that! The only reason I know is because I found the _one_ not-racist book about Orcish culture in the library when I was waiting on Caleb to finish his reading." She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder the way Frumpkin did, but Fjord didn't think she'd appreciate the comparison. "I complained, by the way, about the racist books."

Fjord rested his cheek on her head. "Beau."

"I told Xenoth it was because we were seekers of truth, not convenient narratives - it was the only time he looked proud of me-"

"Thanks, Beau," Fjord interrupted her, since she didn't seem able to stop by herself.

"Hey, you're my friend, you know? I got your back."

_Thank you for- I'd say caring, but-_

_That is accurate._

A drop of water splashed into the basin, and then another, and Fjord wanted to cover his face.

Even after all this time, he was still a crybaby.

"Fucking soap is strong stuff, am I right?" Beau asked suddenly, scrubbing at her own face. "Lean over it too long and it burns your eyes like a motherfucker."

Fjord sniffled. "Yup. We should hurry, then, before it gets worse." He thrust his hands into the sudsy water and grabbed a plate, scrubbing it fiercely before handing it off to Beau.

"....do you think he'll hate you or something?"

"Yes."

Beau nodded once, less an agreement and more just an acknowledgement Fjord had spoken. "Don't keep him in the dark too long, okay? Caleb hates not knowing things."

"I'll tell him. Just let me have this, Beau. Let me be happy for a little while."

Beau nodded, and they finished the dishes in silence.

\--

Caleb followed Fjord up to his room that night, and Fjord wasn't sure what possessed him to do so. 

"Well, this is me."

"Ah, yes."

A moment passed as Caleb flushed, and Fjord couldn't stop himself, batting his eyelashes dramatically at Caleb. "Papa will be _so_ pleased that I have such a gentleman callin' on me, walking me safely to my door at the end of the night."

Caleb flushed redder, but he grinned. "Ah, yes, a dirty homeless wizard I may be, but for you, I will be a gentleman."

Fjord reached up to rub his thumb over Caleb's cheekbone. "Not so dirty right now. Not so homeless, either."

Caleb kept his eyes on Fjord's as he pressed a kiss to Fjord's palm, and the raised scar of the pact that cut through it. Fjord felt like he was on the wrong end of a Shocking Grasp, that bright sparking feeling dancing up his spine and bouncing around his head, leaving him feeling shaky and _wanting._ "Then that leaves me as nothing but a gentleman."

"I'm not getting the feeling you're after gentlemanly things, Caleb."

"A conversation with a handsome man, alone in his bedroom, that's all." Caleb pressed a kiss to the inside of Fjord's wrist, and Fjord hoped that he couldn't feel the way Fjord's pulse leaped at the touch. "Anything after that, well… that depends on you."

Fjord swallowed hard, feeling himself flush. "I, ah. Yeah, come in."

Caleb took Fjord's hand and kissed his knuckles as Fjord scrambled with his other hand to get his door open and wave Caleb inside. 

Once the door was shut behind them, Caleb was back to looking apprehensive, a little bit - as though the confident and charming behavior from before never happened. "I… you said this is new for you, before. What I did not say at the time was that this is new for me, too. The last time I had a lover who lived in the same building as me, I was in school and we were sneaking into one another's dorm rooms."

Fjord almost wanted to know what Caleb was like as a student, if he was as nervous and skittish then as he was now, or was he more like the confident and charming man Fjord caught glimpses of earlier.

Almost wanted, but not really.

"Caleb-"

"Mostly, um. I wanted to know how you wanted to do this? It feels too soon to just… consolidate rooms. But I also cannot say I enjoy the idea of sleeping alone anymore. Not even a matter of sex - I liked holding you last night while I was reading. Perhaps I am being too honest, and this is not something you want out of our arrangement-"

Fjord shook his head. "I liked that, too. So. Ah. We keep our same rooms, and check in if we want to spend the night together before bedtime?"

"I can agree to that." Caleb pressed his forehead to Fjord's. "I would like to stay the night with you. To sleep, if nothing else."

Fjord nodded, unable to help himself as he leaned in to kiss Caleb softly.

And as they drifted off to sleep wrapped around each other, Fjord told himself that he'd tell Caleb about the Mark in the morning. 

\--

And so it went, at least for a little while. The Mark healed slowly, a side effect of the somewhat magical nature of it, and while Caleb and Fjord didn't exactly spend every waking moment together, nights were another story. Sometimes they would just sit up in bed, Fjord drifting off as Caleb read, sometimes Caleb would let Fjord take whatever book he was reading from his hands as they kissed.

It was good. Fjord and Caleb didn't talk about the Mark, because Fjord knew once he did it would all be over. Caleb would despise him, and he wouldn't be wrong to.

And then Essek Theylss showed up.

\--

Caleb, for what it was worth, liked Essek, for all the other wizard was most certainly spying on them every time he came over. He was a good teacher, and his spell book was legible, and he was very patient with Caleb's questioning, though Caleb supposed that was to be expected when one was a master of magics controlling time and fate itself.

"Ah, I see congratulations are in order for your recent nuptials to Mister Fjord," Essek had said as they were finishing up their most recent lesson.

"Excuse me?"

"The Bonding Bite on your neck."

"Ah, yes, of course," Caleb had replied, pretending as though he had the slightest idea of what Essek was going on about.

Nuptials?

"I find it interesting that you went with something so traditionally Orcish - I was under the impression that humans exchanged rings. Then again, I understand there is some inherent magics in such a Bond."

Caleb's face had flushed, and his mind raced with a thousand thoughts that felt more like white noise than coherency. "Right, the magics are helpful, and rings can be lost, or stolen… but just between you and I, my friend, I am going to have a pair made, anyway. I am just a poor designer. Even if it is a rudimentary sketch, I would like to have _something_ to show to a jeweler, and I have not yet come up with something that meets my standards."

Essek had seemed to buy the lie, nodding as though he understood, and had left soon after, leaving Caleb alone sort out his thoughts.

That had been one hour and forty-seven minutes ago.

Caleb snapped his spell book shut, startling Yeza, who had come into the lab thirty-nine minutes prior. "Do you know if Fjord is in, Yeza?"

"Oh! I, um, I believe Mister Clay asked him for help with the garden?"

" _Danke Schoen_."

Caleb headed out to find Fjord, lurking in the doorway to watch as Fjord and Caduceus watered Caduceus's herb garden.

Fjord straightened up, and caught sight of Caleb, his face breaking into a bright smile that made Caleb's heart stutter and skip a beat in his chest.

_Oh._

Caleb waved as Fjord jogged over, and Caleb tugged him down into a kiss as soon as Fjord was close enough. "Mmph. Hey there. Have a good, uh, session? With Essek?"

"It was good. I learned a lot." Caleb guided Fjord's hand to the side of his throat where the mark was, and Fjord immediately started purring, without even seeming to notice it. "When you get the earliest chance to, come to my room," Caleb murmured.

"You can get going now, Mr. Fjord," Caduceus called. "I can finish up here by myself."

Fjord jerked, looking guiltily over his shoulder as Caduceus just waved them off with a soft half smile. "Thanks, 'Duces." He returned his attention to Caleb, giving him a crooked grin. 

_He really is almost unbearably handsome,_ Caleb thought wistfully.

"Do I have time to clean up first?"

Caleb shook his head. "I kind of like you this way."

"What, sweaty and gross?"

Unwilling to explain where the others would no doubt attempt to eavesdrop, Caleb just kissed him again. "I'll see you there, Fjord."

He pulled away, Fjord making a soft, pained noise when Caleb was far away enough that Fjord's hand slipped from the Mark. If what Essek said was true, it certainly explained why Fjord purred or shuddered when contact was made with the Mark, and there was no way that Fjord was aware of the noises he made - the betrayal of such emotional vulnerability in front of all their friends was not something Fjord would ever be comfortable with. Romance and fondness were one thing, but this betrayed something deeper.

If Fjord was _unaware_ of what he had done, of what it _meant_ -

Caleb turned and walked away.

He could not allow Fjord to bind himself to a monster. Not without knowing that's what he was doing. Not by _accident_.

Caleb got to his rooms, and sat on his bed to wait.

\--

Fjord watched Caleb go with a deep, aching fondness in his chest.

"You two really are cute together," Caduceus said with a low, rumbling chuckle. "You remind me of my parents. It's nice to see."

Fjord felt himself flush. "Your parents?"

"You and Caleb practically light up when you see one another. You can't stop yourselves from smiling. It's nice to see. You deserve a little happiness. You and Mr. Caleb both."

"....thanks, Caduceus." Fjord nodded to him as he dusted his hands off on his pants, stopping in the kitchen to wash them in the sink before heading over to Caleb's rooms, nodding to Yeza as he passed, and knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Fjord slipped into Caleb's room, closing the door behind himself as he took in Caleb's posture at the foot of the bed, and immediately something twisted in his gut.

Something was wrong.

"Cay?"

"Essek congratulated me today on our relationship."

"That's… nice of him? I wasn't aware you two talked about things besides Dunamancy."

"He said he was surprised we went with such a traditionally Orcish route - that he thought humans traditionally exchanged rings when they were married."

Fjord froze, a chill terror spreading through his bones. "Caleb-"

"Did you know? That that is what this Mark on my neck means?"

The ocean was roaring in Fjord's ears, his lungs burned like he was drowning. "Yes."

"Fjord? Come sit with me?" Caleb held out his hand beseechingly. "I'm not- please come here, Fjord?"

Fjord was moving without thinking, legs feeling stiff and wooden as he stumbled over to Caleb and sat down heavily. "Caleb, I-"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why trick me into-"

"It wasn't a trick!" Fjord blurted, grabbing Caleb's hand between his. "Caleb, I didn't say anything because I'm not going to hold you to the Bond!"

"Fjord?"

"I don't- you don't deserve to be bonded to a monster. Instincts don't overrule consent."

"So. Instead of telling me, you just… kept it to yourself?" Caleb's voice was frosty and his jaw tense.

"Cay-"

"Is it that you think so little of me that I would forever hate you for a mistake you made when not in your right mind? Or is it that you never wanted me at all?"

Fjord felt like he was hit in the chest with a cannon ball, the air forced out of his lungs. "I do want you - I think I've proven that!"

"So it is a matter of not wanting to be married?" Caleb asked, giving Fjord's hand a squeeze. "Because if _you_ don't wish to be married to me, that is one thing - that is something I will respect and we can consider this matter dropped. But if you are making choices _for me_ in denying what this is, that is another kettle of fish that I will not abide."

Fjord blinked. "Caleb, I don't think I'm following you."

"Do you want to stay married?"

Fjord flushed. "I know you don't-"

"I am not asking you what you think you know about what I want," Caleb snapped, an edge of steel in his voice that, even in his misery, sent electric sparks down Fjord's spine in a way that made him want to bare his throat.

"I. Yes. Yes I want to stay married and have you mark me back."

Caleb reached up and cupped Fjord's cheek. "That is what I want, too."

_Wait. What?_

"Wait. What?"

"You were so sure about what I wanted-" Caleb sighed, leaning into Fjord's side. "I did not know if you even knew what you had done, since you have not grown up around other Orcish people, and I needed to make sure I could give you an out, so that you did not stay with a monster."

"You're not a monster. You've done bad shit, but we've all done bad shit. You're doing better though, and that's what counts-"

Caleb kissed him. "This is not about me, _Liebling_."

Fjord kissed him back with a soft whine. "I just don't know how you're gonna Mark me back-"

Caleb grinned. "I have an idea. But, first, first, Essek said there's inherent magic in this Bond?"

Fjord blinked. "I mean. I guess? It's like any marriage spell, I suppose. Jester was telling me about a spell she and Cad can do, and it sounds about the same? Only their spell has the effects last for seven days, and the Mark is more. Um. Lifelong."

"Mmmhmmm. And do I have to make the mark with tusks or do I need a weapon?"

"It, ah, has to be your teeth. Tusks are just easiest to- Caleb?"

Caleb had pulled out his cocoon, and was grinning at Fjord as his eyeteeth lengthened and sharpened into points. "Will these suffice?"

Fjord squeaked. If anyone ever asked, he'd never admit it, but here in his own head, alone with Caleb who just grew fangs? 

He squeaked.

"I, uh, yeah, yeah those should work," Fjord stammered out, feeling his face heat up. 

"Do we need to be having sex while I bite you?"

"I wouldn't say no, but I don't think it's really necessary - it just makes everything feel-"

Caleb leaned in and kissed him, soft and slow, and Fjord whimpered into it. "You are nervous, _Bärchen_?"

"This conversation has been A Lot, Cay," Fjord pressed his forehead to Caleb's. "I'm still playing catch up."

Caleb nodded. "Would you like to wait for me to Mark you back?"

" _No._ The fangs are hot. I am just… trying to sort my thoughts while turned on as hell."

Caleb grinned, and Fjord's face felt even hotter. "I bet I could make you stop thinking for a while."

There was a part of Fjord's brain that was screaming at him to get away from the predator, that he was going to be eaten.

The rest of him _wanted_.

"No bet. But I'd be happy to-" Fjord cut himself off with a moan as Caleb leaned in and kissed his neck. " _Caleb…_ "

"Look at you," Caleb murmured, possibly half to himself, as he reached down to press the heel of his palm to Fjord's cock. "So hard and pretty and wanting and I've barely touched you yet."

Fjord tipped his head back, breath coming in short gasps. "Caleb!"

"Yes, _Bärchen_?"

"Please… _please!_ "

Caleb sank his fangs into Fjord's throat, and Fjord moaned loud enough he was sure it was echoing in the hallway.

_Mine._

_Always._

\--

Fjord was purring. He couldn't help it. Caleb had his fingers buried in his hair, gently scratching his nails over the shorter hair of his undercut like he did with Frumpkin - something that felt like a mirror of their first time, only better, because the bond was complete, and Fjord could feel the thrum of contentment radiating from Caleb so strong it was almost like the human was purring as well.

Curled up on Fjord's side, Frumpkin sat with his eyes closed contentedly, effectively pinning Fjord under him at risk of disturbing the familiar, and simultaneously pinning Caleb partially under Fjord.

"...this is nice."

"Mmhm," Caleb turned a page in his book. "Fjord?"

"Mm?"

"Move into my room with me?"

Fjord rubbed his cheek against Caleb's shoulder. "Mm. Absolutely."

" _Wunderbar._ " A long moment passed, and Caleb turned another page in his book. "I told Essek that the reason we didn't have rings was because I was having them made. It was a lie at the time, but I do not wish it to remain so. But I really am a pisspoor designer. What would you like for a ring?"

Fjord hid his face in Caleb's throat. "That's easy enough. I'm a simple guy, I like simple things. Just a plain band with an engraving on the inside."

"Oh? Of what?"

"What I promised you when I bound myself to you the first time: Always."

Caleb's breathing hitched. " _Fjord…_ " The door opened suddenly and Frumpkin only twitched his ear as Caleb sighed. "Yes, Beauregard?"

"Why is it whenever I come here, you two are naked?"

"Because you are rude and don't knock. Next question."

"Dinner is gonna be ready in, like, fifteen minutes and if you show up smelling like sex, Caduceus won't feed you. My words, not his."

Fjord snorted. "Honeymoon's over, I guess, huh Cay?"

"Honeymoon?" Beau's eyes went wide. "You told him?"

"We completed the Bond-"

Beau cheered, rushing out of Caleb's room. "GUYS, WE'RE CELEBRATING TONIGHT! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS OWE ME FORTY GOLD!"

Fjord looked at Caleb. "From a place of caring, right?"

"And because we are all assholes, a little bit."

Fjord tugged Caleb down into a kiss, laughing into it as the sounds of his friends echoed through the house.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, I homebrewed some stuff about orcs/bonding bites because it's bullshit that the benefits of the Ceremony spell for weddings only lasts a week.
> 
> Zemnian Translation:
> 
> Ja - yes
> 
> Bärchen - teddy bear
> 
> Wenn ich könnte, würde ich liebend gern dein Kind zur Welt bringen - If I could, I would gladly bring your child into the world.
> 
> bitte - please
> 
> Danke Schoen - Thank you very much
> 
> Liebling - favorite
> 
> Wunderbar - wonderful


End file.
